Race and Personal Exposure to AD Influence Projected Memory Failure Attributions and Help-Seeking Behaviors

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Gerontology
• Public Health

Background:

• Alzheimer's Disease (AD) disproportionately affects minority populations.
• Understanding race-based discrepancies in help-seeking behaviors is crucial for early AD detection.
• Pre-morbid adults' perceptions of memory failure influence their medical help-seeking thresholds.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine how race and personal exposure to Alzheimer's Disease (AD) impact memory failure attributions and medical help-seeking.
• To investigate race-based disparities in help-seeking for individuals at risk for early-onset AD.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional online survey was administered to 498 adults aged 40-65 screened for memory failure.
• Participants completed questionnaires on help-seeking intentions, attribution of hypothetical memory failures, and AD concern.
• Statistical analyses explored the influence of race, personal AD exposure, and memory attributions on help-seeking thresholds.

Main Results:

• Non-Hispanic Whites reported higher AD concern than African Americans (p=.027).
• Personal AD exposure moderated the effect of race on memory attributions, being more influential for African Americans (p=.036).
• Attributing memory failures to AD correlated with lower thresholds for seeking medical evaluation (p=.010), potentially mediating race-based help-seeking differences (p=.057).

Conclusions:

• African Americans' attributions of memory failures are more heavily influenced by personal experiences with AD.
• These findings highlight the need for culturally sensitive approaches to AD awareness and early intervention.
• Healthcare providers should stress the importance of early AD diagnosis and treatment for improving patient and caregiver quality of life.